The Office
The Office is a franchise of several television comedy shows created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, including several international adaptations. The first was the UK version, which was initially broadcast on BBC Two in 2001 and ran for two series and a pair of Christmas specials. The success and unique appeal of the series led to NBC commissioning Gervais and Merchant to create an American version, which premiered in 2005. The shows focus on a mock-documentary of an office and its employees. BBC version Muppet Mentions * The first series of The Office featured a Flat Eric doll in the office; the doll sat at the top of a coatrack in various positions. The doll can be seen in the background in each episode of the first series. In two episodes, David Brent shows off the doll to visitors, a sign of his desperate attempts to add levity to the workplace. * In the cold open of the first episode of series 2, Gareth irritates his co-worker Tim by singing "Mahna Mahna". To Tim's despair, David joins in the song. * In the second episode of series 2, David proves to Dawn that he's funny by doing a series of Muppet impressions, including Kermit, Miss Piggy and Robin the Frog. He can't do Gonzo. Connections *Martin Freeman played Tim Canterbury. NBC version Muppet Mentions * In the episode "Hot Girl" (originally aired April 26, 2005) Michael introduces Katy to Oscar, and showcases his personal nickname for Oscar, Oscar the Grouch. :: * In the episode "The Fire" (originally aired October 11, 2005), Michael becomes a mentor to Ryan the intern. The newfound relationship prompts Michael to do attempt an impression of Yoda, which Ryan "confuses" with another Frank Oz character, namely Fozzie Bear. :: * Andy serenades his co-worker Pam on the banjo with his rendition of "The Rainbow Connection," in partial pig-latin and a high falsetto singing voice at the conclusion of the episode "The Convict" (originally aired November 30, 2006). * The episode "Back from Vacation" (originally aired January 4, 2007) features a mention of Muppet Babies. While Michael is away on vacation, Dwight takes it upon himself to tape record all the meetings that Michael misses. As a prank on Dwight, Jim and the other employees begin to proclaim made-up remarks "into the record" of what Dwight is doing. Included in the made-up list of embarrassing and inappropriate actions the audio tape recording captures includes Dwight exposing a tattoo of Baby Animal from Muppet Babies. :: * In the episode, "Money" (originally aired October 18, 2007), Oscar is analyzing Michael's credit card debt and asks about a charge from Amazon.com which Michael excitedly exclaims was for The Muppet Show. :: * In the episode, "Business Ethics" (originally aired October 9, 2008), Michael makes a confession about the days following his discovery of YouTube, claiming to have "watched Cookie Monster sing 'Chocolate Rain' about a thousand times." *In the episode "Baby Shower" (originally aired October 16, 2008), a large plushie of Big Bird is hidden in the background during the titular shower. Connections * Jessica Alba played Sophie in "Stress Relief" * Jack Black played Sam in "Stress Relief" * Kevin Carlson performed a puppet character "Edward R. Meow" in the episode "Take Your Daughter to Work Day". * Ken Kwapis is an executive producer and one of the main directors for the series. * Cloris Leachman played Lily Hanaday in "Stress Relief" * Conan O'Brien played himself in "Valentine's Day" * Colleen Smith played Stephanie in "E-Mail Surveillance" External links *Official website of the U.K. version, from BBC website *Official website of the U.S. version, from the NBC website *U.K. version at The Internet Movie Database *U.S. version at The Internet Movie Database *Office Tally Office